Spooky season comes for us all, even No Refund Theatre. After a short hiatus, the group has returned with “Frankenstein”, adapted for the stage by Andrew Biliter from the classic novel by Mary Shelley.

The production was led by co-directors Ryder Quiggle and Olivia Sarsfield, and backed by one of the larger NRT casts I’ve seen. With ten actors, all but two playing several roles apiece, NRT gives us quite a spectacle leading into Halloweekend.

This show is one I’ve been waiting for ever since I started covering NRT, having missed their “Dracula” show last year. I was not disappointed in the slightest. The show was eerie, atmospheric, thought-provoking, and strong in all the right ways.

At the beginning of the play, we are greeted with a ship crew en route to the North Pole. The crew encounters one dog sled, then another. They lose track of the first, but bring the sole passenger of the second aboard — credited as “The Stranger”, and played wonderfully by Zack Renda.

The Stranger then recalls his story up to that point in gory detail. He is Victor Frankenstein, worn down by misery, searching for his creation. Zack Renda narrates this story with a voice that rivals every narrator of scary stories.

We see Frankenstein’s life. His family, his love, and his downfall. Alex Clipper portrays a young Frankenstein (huh) as he discovers science, heads off to university, and inevitably marches on his path to doom. It may be a classic story, one retold hundreds of times in the centuries since its publication, but it loses none of the wonder.

The monster, portrayed by Jackson Malenke and rightly credited as “???” in the program (just like the monster’s most famous incarnation), gives us a show that makes us (almost) feel for the character. This isn’t the monster you’re used to, with bolts protruding from his head and stitches all over; instead, far more faithful to the original (as is the rest of the play).

If you’re feeling spooky, head over to Forum 111 this weekend for No Refund Theatre’s “Frankenstein”. It’s fun, a little scary, and never misses a step. The show will be performed on October 30th at 9 p.m., the 31st at 9 p.m., and November 1st at 8 p.m.. And as always, no refunds.